This invention relates to a support for a wheeled device such as a bicycle or the like, such as for use in connection with a vehicle-mounted carrier or a parking arrangement.
There are a wide variety of carrier configurations for securing wheeled devices, such as bicycles, to a vehicle. One design is a fork mount, which requires the user to remove the bicycle front wheel and use the fork of the bicycle for securement and stabilization. This design is acceptable, but requires the user to remove and replace the bicycle wheel and to store the wheel during transport. Another design utilizes the frame of the bicycle to support the bicycle on the carrier in a suspension-type manner. There are a wide variety of carriers of this type. A common limitation to all such carriers is that the carrier may not be able to support certain types of uniquely configured bicycle frames. Suspension-type carriers also require the use of stabilizers or the like to prevent the suspended bicycles from swinging during movement of the vehicle. Stabilizers add cost to the carrier, and are sometimes unable to provide the degree of restraint that is required in order to prevent swinging movement of the bicycles during transport, such that one carrier cannot be used to support frames having different configurations. Tray-type carriers typically support the bicycle using the bicycle wheels, without engagement with the frame. Carriers of this type are easy to use in that the bicycle is simply placed on the carrier. An example of a tray-type bicycle carrier is shown and described in Pedrini U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,297 issued Jul. 13, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The '297 patent discloses a carrier in which one of the bicycle wheels is engaged with a pair of pivoting wheel supports that are configured to support the bicycle wheel from below. The other bicycle wheel rests on a support spaced from the pivoting wheel supports. An extendible and retractable arm engages an upper area of the wheel that is supported by the pivoting supports, and applies a downward force on the wheel to essentially clamp the wheel against the pivoting wheel supports, to secure the bicycle to the carrier. A commercial embodiment of a carrier of this type is available from Saris Cycling Group, Inc. of Madison, Wis. under the designation CYCLE-ON. This type of carrier avoids the need remove a bicycle wheel or to engage the bicycle frame, in order to support the bicycle on the carrier. However, the extendible and retractable arm associated with this type of carrier involves a mechanism that adds a certain amount of cost and complexity to the carrier, which thus affects the price of the carrier and also requires maintenance and repair to ensure operability of the arm.
In a bicycle parking application, a typical stationary support for a wheeled device such as a bicycle involves a frame or the like that includes a number of open spaces, each of which is configured to receive a bicycle wheel. The frame includes a pair of cross-members that prevent the wheel from rolling when the wheel is received within one of the spaces, to maintain the bicycle in an upright orientation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a support for a wheeled device such as a bicycle, which can be used in either a vehicle-mounted carrier application or in a stationary parking application. It is another object of the invention to provide such a support that is configured to maintain the wheeled device in an upright orientation by engagement with the wheels of the wheeled device, without the need for an extendible and retractable arm or other mechanism as in the prior art. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a support that is capable of enabling the wheeled device to be quickly and easily placed on and secured to the support. Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a support which is relatively simple in its components and assembly, which thus enables the device to be manufactured at a relatively low cost to enhance affordability of the support. A still further object of the invention is to provide such a support that can be placed in an operative position for use and in an inoperative position when not in use, to minimize the space occupied by the support. A still further object of the invention is to provide such a support that is versatile so as to be capable of supporting bicycles of different sizes and configurations.
In accordance with one aspect, the invention contemplates a support for a wheeled device, such as a bicycle having a front wheel and a rear wheel, including a support frame and a first wheel engagement member pivotably mounted to the support frame in a first location for movement about a pivot axis between an lowered inoperative position and a raised support position. The first wheel engagement member is configured to engage a portion of an outer periphery defined by a first one of the bicycle wheels. The wheel engagement member faces upwardly when in the lowered inoperative position, and faces laterally when in the raised support position. The support further includes a second wheel support or engagement member mounted to the support frame in a second location spaced from the first location. The second wheel support member is configured to engage a second one of the bicycle wheels when the first wheel engagement member is engaged with the first bicycle wheel in the support position. The first bicycle wheel may be engaged with the wheel engagement member while the first wheel engagement member is in the lowered inoperative position, and the first wheel engagement member may then be pivoted to the raised support position. Alternatively, the first bicycle wheel may be engaged with the wheel engagement member after the first wheel engagement member has been moved from the lowered inoperative position to the raised support position. A first support member is interconnected with the support frame at the first location, and is configured to support the first bicycle wheel from below when the first wheel engagement member is in the support position. Representatively, the first wheel engagement member and the first wheel support member are in the form of arcuate trough members defining trough walls configured to receive and engage the first bicycle wheel. A strap arrangement may be used to secure the first and second bicycle wheels to the respective first and second wheel engagement members. The bicycle support may form a part of a vehicle-mounted bicycle carrier, or may be used in a stationary bicycle parking arrangement.
The bicycle support may include multiple pairs of first and second wheel engagement and support members for supporting multiple bicycles. In one embodiment, the bicycle support includes a frame and at least a pair of front wheel supports mounted to the frame, each of which is configured to engage and support the front wheel of a bicycle. At least a pair of rear wheel supports are mounted to the frame, and each is configured to engage and support the rear wheel of a bicycle. The frame, the front wheel supports and the rear wheel supports are configured such that the bicycle front wheels are turned relative to the bicycle frames to prevent contact between the handlebars of an adjacent pair of bicycles. As summarized previously, each front wheel support may be in the form of a trough member that is pivotably mounted to the frame for movement between a lowered inoperative position and a laterally facing support position. In another embodiment, the frame, the front wheel supports and the rear wheel supports are configured such that each front wheel support is located adjacent a rear wheel support. In this manner, the bicycles are mounted to the frame so as to face in opposite directions, in order to prevent contact between the handlebars of an adjacent pair of bicycles.
In accordance with another aspect, the invention contemplates a method of supporting a bicycle having a front wheel and a rear wheel. The method includes engaging a first wheel of the bicycle with a first wheel engagement member pivotably mounted to a support frame in a first location for movement about a pivot axis between a lowered inoperative position and a raised support position. The wheel engagement member faces upwardly when in the lowered inoperative, and is configured to engage a portion of an outer periphery defined by the first bicycle wheel. The method further includes engaging a second wheel of the bicycle with a second wheel engagement member at a second location spaced from the first location when the first wheel support member is in the support position. The method also involves supporting the first wheel from below via a first wheel support member when the first wheel engagement member is in the support position.
The invention also contemplates a support for a bicycle having first and second wheels, including an a primary wheel support configured to receive and engage the first bicycle wheel, which includes a pivoting engagement section that is pivotable about a pivot axis from an upwardly facing receiving position to a laterally facing support position. A portion of the primary support underlies the first bicycle wheel when the pivoting engagement section is in the support position. A secondary wheel support is configured to support the second bicycle wheel when the pivoting engagement section of the primary support is in the support position. The primary support and the secondary support may be carried by a frame configured for engagement with a vehicle, or may be interconnected with a stationary bicycle parking structure. The primary support may be oriented non-perpendicular to the pivot axis so that, when the first bicycle wheel is engaged with the trough member, the first bicycle wheel is oriented in a plane that is non-perpendicular to the pivot axis. The primary support and the secondary support are preferably configured such that a portion of the pivoting engagement section of the primary support is located adjacent the secondary support when the pivoting engagement section is in the upwardly facing inoperative position. A retainer arrangement releasably secures the portion of the pivoting engagement section of the primary support to the secondary support, to maintain the pivoting engagement section in the upwardly facing inoperative position.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the drawings.